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Sero_83363's avatar
Sero_83363
Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
Feb 07, 2013

Single or multiple Virtual Servers?

Hi - This is probably a really noob post...

 

I have two servers that need to be load balanced for 3 different types of traffic. SMB, HTTP and another TCP port (for a thick client app).

 

I could create a virtual server for each service or I could create a single virtual server for all 3 services using the "all ports" option.

 

I am just not sure which one is "best". I suspect the answer is "it depends" but any good best practice\advice much appreciated.

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Sero

 

basic
getting started
new to f5

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  • What_Lies_Bene1's avatar
    What_Lies_Bene1
    Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
    Feb 07, 2013
    Considering the very different types of traffic I'd recommend three Virtual Servers. The HTTP service will need a HTTP profile (perhaps SSL, HTTP Compression and Web Optimisation too) assigned to it's VS which wouldn't work with the other traffic types. You could consolidate the SMB and TCP into one VS but I'd still go for two as the two applications are very different and you'll be able to tweak TCP settings such as Idle Timeouts etc. for each one individually (which I assume will be important for the SMB in particular).
  • hooleylist's avatar
    hooleylist
    Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
    Feb 07, 2013
    I strongly agree with Steve on this. Ideally you would configure a separate virtual server per protocol to ensure you have an easy way to customize the traffic handling using profiles designed just for one protocol.

     

     

    Aaron